I was told so many clichés about you, very often full of stories of mosquitos, dangerous diseases or dust… and still, there was something captivating in you, something beyond explanation or rational, the need of a reconnection between us, wanted and waited.
When I first visit you in Mumbai, the first thing that stroke me was the smell around me, this so particular smell of papier-maché which surrounds everybody in the heavy and wet atmosphere of November and that you bring back in your luggages… Under the white lights of the airport an exchange of “Namasté” at the passport control definitly made me feel “home again”.
You fed me with your fantastic spicy Tandoori dishes and I still have the taste of the first Indian made Daal makhani* cooked overnight that I had the first evening, which is now an incontrovertible dish everytime I visit you.
When I close my eyes, I can still smell the jasmine flowers scent in the hair of the women who were passing by gracefully, with their henna tatoos on the hands and their colourful saris hiding their feet which almost make you think that they’re floating in the air…
Those Gods, called and prayed before sessions of Ayurvedic treatments in order to heal me, body, mind and soul. The smell of the sesame oil spilling out on my front head, cleaning my 3rd eye during a Shirodhara in Kerala.
I miss our noisy rides in picturesque rickshaws, horning every second without any reason!… And when our common story brought me at the foot of the Himalayan chain, the crossing of Penjab full of rape fields made me discover a generous population, sharing their prashad, some food and sweets along the road after a Pujah (worship ceremony).
Thanks to you, I met the most wonderful compassionate look in the eyes of a silent woman who welcomed me at the entrance of a Gurudwara (Sikh temple), taking my shoes before I cleaned my feet and entered the temple. She showed me the warmest Love and benevolence someone ever had for me just with a glance that I’ll never forget…
You let your numerous stigmatas in my memory, and for all these reasons, I miss you my mother India…
This Ode is dedicated to all the people who love India around me and particularly to Anand: Anand my brother, thanks for the bliss you spread around you, you really deserve your name!
*Daal Makhani is a spectacular black lentil dish mix up with many magic ingredients (see recipe below)
DAAL MAKHANI RECIPE:
Rita Minassian 